AI and the 80/20 Principle: A Match Made in Productivity Heaven
What is the Pareto Principle and how can it be applied to our lives? How can humans benefit from the application of the 80/20 principle and how can AI play a role in this change? What could be an example of an 80/20 standard day? The Pareto Principle or the 80/20 principle is an empirical law that explains that in almost any area, 20% of the input or effort produces 80% of the output or reward. This principle can be applied to any sphere of life, ranging from business to quality of life. By refocusing the efforts on the 20% that is producing the most results, one can see a tremendous boost in efficiency. The principle can be applied to everyday life by finding ways to simplify tasks, and by concentrating on the most important and efficient tasks. This can free up time to pursue important long-term investments, such as developing open-source projects, improving education, and sharing knowledge. Humans can benefit from the application of the 80/20 principle by changing priorities in their lives and stop giving 100% of their time, energy and mental power to ethereal ideas, and start focusing on putting a strong 30-40% into important long-term investments. By concentrating on the creative efforts and letting machines and robots do the repetitive and scalable tasks, precious time can be freed up. AI can play a role in this change by assuming the role of performing repetitive and scalable tasks, freeing up time for humans to concentrate on creative efforts. Machines will learn and develop mechanisms for their inner evolution, beginning with efficiency targets, then effectiveness targets. Humans can learn from AI to simplify their lives and concentrate on efficient, uncorrelated tasks in their jobs.
An example of an 80/20 standard day could be: waking up at 6:30 am, spending an hour with children or exploring personal interests, working from 8 am to 1 pm, having lunch and spending time with family, taking a nap or relaxing from 2 pm to 3 pm, working from 3 pm to 6 pm or thinking/doing personal business, spending time on open-source projects/knowledge sharing/family from 6 pm to 8 pm, and spending time with friends/family/job planning from 8 pm to 11 pm.